


Between the Two of Us and the Rest of the Universe

by thatonedudewiththename



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Crushes, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-24
Updated: 2016-09-24
Packaged: 2018-08-16 23:43:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8122195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatonedudewiththename/pseuds/thatonedudewiththename
Summary: Matt had a crush on Mark... or perhaps Ryan.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I actually started this a few months ago and was almost done, but had a lot on my plate at the time and deleted it. Earlier today, I found it in the trash can of my notes app and decided to finish it. Enjoy!

     It hadn't been intentional, starting that ship; Matt was pretty sure of that. He and Ryan knew that their shows of affection might've been taken as romantic, sure, and that perhaps some people would draw or write something about it, but an actual, real-life rumour with theories and “evidence” and supposed confirmation given in subtext that was spreading like, well, a rumour? That was a little out of hand.  
     Letting out a deep sigh as he clicked out of the editing program he was using after saving and exporting the video he'd been working on, Matt put his computer to sleep and stood up, rubbing his hands over his face and turning around just in time to collide with something hard, scratchy, and short— the yelp that the thing gave off upon contact had Matt apologizing, “Oh! Mark! Sorry dude, didn't see you there."  
     “Is that a short joke?" Mark asked with a crooked smirk, his deep brown eyes twinkling with mischief.  
     Sticking out his tongue, Matt answered, “Are you admitting that you're short?"  
     Mark scoffed as though offended. “How _dare_ you!"  
     Snickering, Matt received a friendly punch to his shoulder and was told to “get outta here” by Mark, who took the drink from his desk and sipped the straw. With problems forgotten, Matt walked towards the kitchen, pausing to pet Chica, who'd come bounding around the corner after Mark, pausing to lick Matt's hand, then continuing on her journey. Matt opened the fridge and perused its contents a moment, not finding anything satisfactory and therefore moving on to the freezer, taking out a popsicle and stripping the wrapper off; no sooner had he gotten it in his mouth that Ryan came through the front door with Lego, having finished his walk with him. Matt turned the corner to look at him and smile around his popsicle at the sight of him, removing the popsicle from his mouth and questioning, “Have a good walk?"  
     Ryan took off his sunglasses and glanced up from unleashing Lego with a small smile, patting him momentarily, then straightening. “Yeah, it was alright. Lego had me at a jog the whole time, had to take a few breaks. It's hot as ballsacks out there." He replied, plucking at his shirt to cool himself. “I'm gonna hit the pool, wanna join me?"  
     Somewhat eagerly, Matt nodded and scratched his head. “Yeah! I was just thinking the same thing, actually. "  
     “Cool!" Ryan nodded.  
     From the other room, a voice cried out, “What's this I hear about a pool?!"  
     Matt turned toward the recording room and yelled, “You're not invited!"  
     A huff, but no more was said from Mark, who probably had work to do, anyway. Being as how he was already in shorts with no underwear, Matt shucked his shirt off and tossed it onto the sofa, Ryan doing the same thing and racing out to the pool in their backyard, Matt sprinting after him, both men slipping on the tiles on the edge of the pool and falling into the water.  
     Matt landed almost on top of Ryan, surfacing before he did but still dazed from his unprepared plunge; next to him, Ryan spluttered and coughed, wiping water from his face and eyes and running his hands through his hair. “So that's why they say no running in the pool." He breathed.  
     Matt snorted, which made him cough. “I blame you."  
     A gentle, playful shove, the contact of Ryan's warm, slightly calloused hands making Matt squirm a little— on bare skin, it was... weird, though why he was thinking about this now and not all the other times they'd touched he couldn't fathom, but regardless, he kind of shied away from the contact and played it off as him moving back to splash water in Ryan's face; it seemed to work, with Ryan laughing and splashing him in return, the two of them playing around for a while before Ryan suggested, “Hey, wanna listen to some music while we're out here?"  
     Matt nodded. “Yeah, duh."  
     Ryan got out of the pool and grabbed his phone with wet hands, plugging in the speakers on the table and turning them on, then plugging the aux cord into his phone and pressing play. As he dropped back into the water, some indie music Matt hadn't heard before began to play, but then he'd always pegged Ryan as the indie and punk type, considering some of his favourite bands were Vampire Weekend and Tigers Jaw. Matt watched Ryan float on his back with his eyes closed and listened to the song, deciding not to be a jerk and saying, “I like this."  
     A smile formed on Ryan's face, a rare true one that had Matt feeling warm in his chest. “It's called _‘Frame You’_ , one of my favourites from this album." He told him.  
     “Yeah?" Matt swam over to him and floated beside him, Ryan glancing at him and then chuckling.  
     “Why the sudden interest? You're usually never interested in my music."  
     “What, a guy can't ask about his friend's music interests? Is it illegal, some new law I wasn't told about?"  
     Ryan laughed and bumped Matt with his arm. “Shut up, you smartass."  
     Again, that weird feeling on his skin from Ryan touching him; Matt hated it, but also didn't, like he wanted more of it but kinda didn't want to be touched again. It was very confusing. Matt wasn't really into confusing. “Ryan, did you know that there's a conspiracy about us?"  
     A questioning noise from Ryan, followed by him asking, “What'dya mean?"  
     “I mean like, people think we're dating," Matt answered, for some reason feeling his heart race and fingers grow cold waiting for his response.  
     Laughter, somewhat light-hearted and not in any way malicious, with Ryan turning to Matt when he spoke. “And you're worried about it..? "  
     Squeezing in Matt's chest. “No, I just... thought you should know, y'know?"  
     “Trust me Matt, I know." Ryan closed his eyes and faced the sky once more. “It's fine. I don't mind it."  
     “Why not?" Matt's eyebrows furrowed.  
     “Why would I?" Again, Ryan looked to him, though his expression was concerned. “Are ya sure you're not worried about it? We can post a little PSA about shipping if it's bothering you—"  
     “Ryan," Getting out of his floating position, Matt chuckled airily and held up a hand. “I'm just asking some questions! Calm down, dude."  
     Also standing, Ryan nodded singularly and smiled a little. “Just making sure, man; I don't want you to be uncomfortable with it and not tell me and have it be in your face all the time. I'd hate myself,"  
     “Well!" Matt's face felt a little warm at the words. “It's fine, so..."  
     Giving a thumbs up, Ryan laid back down to float, Matt following; after a few minutes, Ryan said, “It's because I like you,"  
     Coughing on nothing in particular, Matt questioned, “Huh??"  
     “You asked why people thinking we're dating doesn't bother me, remember? It's because I like you."  
     “Oh."  
     Staring at Ryan, whose eyes were closed and not paying attention to him, Matt furrowed his brows and thought on his words for a while, the two of them still floating in the pool with Lego and Chica running around the yard, the high, Californian sun beaming down on them from its place in the pale blue sky that was dotted with wisps of translucent clouds. In the distance, past the water in his ears, Matt could hear insects buzzing around, the muffled sound of Ryan's music, seagulls screeching from somewhere far away, along with Mark yelling incoherently inside the house. It was... peaceful, clearing away the fog in his brain and the anxieties from his limbs, relaxing him much like the warmth of the sun would to an old dog's joints, which in retrospect was kind of a weird analogy for him to think of, but it worked. 

 

     After their fun in the sun, they climbed out of the pool, Ryan disconnecting his phone from the speakers while Matt waited at the back door for him, although why he didn't know, but regardless, he watched Ryan until he headed his way, then stepping inside and closing the door after Ryan followed him in. Both headed for the bathroom to wash the pool water off, Matt reaching one of the bathrooms first just as Ryan asked, “Hey, do you want to shower together?"  
     Eyes shooting open wide and hand clenching tightly just before reaching the knob, Matt spun around and questioned louder than he'd anticipated to, “You wanna _what?"_  
     Ryan held up his hands and laughed. “Woah, no need to yell, I'm right here."  
     “Sorry," Matt blinked rapid-fire, then said, “Just— what?"  
     “It'll save money you know? On the water bill."  
     Logical... Besides, they weren't going to be naked, right? Which... in retrospect didn't matter as he'd seen Ryan naked many a time and it wouldn't be anything new. This and more ran through Matt's head as he answered, "Yeah, sure! I guess we could," As soon as it was said, regret and shock attacked him at once, a wicked double team that had him standing and staring off into space for so long that he didn't hear Ryan call his name until he was being shaken.  
     “Dude! Comin' or what?” Ryan asked.  
     “Huh?” Matt mumbled, suddenly remembering where he was and what he was doing. “Oh, right. Sorry.”  
     They both shuffled into the bathroom and shut the door, Ryan locking it, which for some made Matt feel a little uneasy; regardless, he turned and faced the shower and then turned it on, hearing the sliding of wet swim trunks against skin from behind him, which he heartily chose to ignore— keeping his composure, he shucked his shorts off and stepped inside, both hearing and feeling Ryan get in behind him. He heard a quick “Sorry”, followed by a warm and rough hand settling on his hip and Ryan bending down. Before he could say anything, Ryan straightened and removed the hand. “Sorry about that, I needed some support to grab my razor.” He told him.  
     “Uh,” Matt mumbled, “it's OK.”  
     Ryan merely hummed to himself and began to wash his hair, leaving Matt to his own devices— aka, washing his body and feeling every part of himself heat up at the slightest of brushes that Ryan would nudge against him; it kept him from completely relaxing under the spray of the lukewarm water that did its best to cool him after his time in the sun. To help him forget the fact that he was showering with his friend, he concentrated on the pitter-patter of the droplets on his back, the sharp scent of body wash and shampoo, and on shaving his face without cutting himself since he didn't have a mirror.  
     A voice spoke gently into his ear saying “Do ya want a mirror?”, causing him to flinch and almost take a chunk of flesh out of his chin with his extremely sharp and poorly guarded razor.  
     “Jesus shit, Ryan!” He yelped, though he didn't turn around.  
     “Sorry, I thought you felt me touch you.” Ryan murmured.  
     Touch..? As soon as Matt thought that, the sensation of Ryan's hand on his upper arm settled in, causing goosebumps to shoot up all over his body and a shiver to run up and down his spine; there was no way Ryan hadn't felt that happen, though there was always a first time for everything as he merely asked again, “So, want that mirror or..?”  
     “Yeah! Sure.” Matt mumbled.  
     The hand didn't leave when Ryan leaned out of the shower to grab the handheld mirror, nor did it leave when Ryan came back— in fact, it moved to settle on his hip, where it remained until, with gently shaking hands and a slight turn of his head, Matt said, “Can you move your hand please?”  
     “Oh right, sorry.” Ryan said in a quiet tone. “I was thinking of something.”  
     “Like what?” Matt asked, setting his razor down as he was done shaving and moved on to washing his face off, which meant turning around.  
     Ryan answered just as Matt faced him. “You,”  
     Spluttering on nothing in particular, Matt choked out, _“Ehh?!”_  
     “Well, I was just noticing how skinny you really are from behind, and yet your ass is just like–”  
     Just then, the water turned ice cold, which had both Matt and Ryan yipping and rushing to get out of the shower to escape it. Matt, being the last out, turned the knob to shut the water off, the last thing that Ryan had said repeating itself over and over in his mind like a cruel echo; he'd been looking at his ass? No, not just that, his _whole body?_ That was... what? Absurd? It's not like he hadn't noticed Ryan checking him out long before this had even happened— way back when they'd first met, it seemed like. It had become more inconspicuous for a while, but right around when they'd all bought a house together, it started back up, along with Ryan becoming more physical some time after. He'd been confused, sure, but with how preoccupied he was with... other things, namely his crush on Mark, he hadn't really had the effort to care about it until now. Hell, he hadn't even really _noticed_ until now, now that he was taking the time to reflect.  
     A voice interrupted his thoughts. “Matt?” It was Ryan, who was standing in front of him still very naked.  
     “Uh yeah?” Matt replied.  
     “'scuse me, for the fifth time.”  
     Oops. He should really save his moments of introspection for when he was alone. “Sorry, again.”  
     “No worries, I can see you're busy.”  
     They swapped places with Matt now next to the door and Ryan on the side that the shower was— he grabbed a towel and began to dry off, starting with his face and ending with his back just as there was a knock on the door, followed by Mark's muffled voice yelling, “Hey! You're taking up all the hot water!”  
     Stepping into his boxer briefs before cracking open the door, Matt apologized, “Sorry dude, didn't realize how long—”  
     The sight of Mark with a hastily wrapped towel around his waist and his hair and body dripping wet made Matt cut himself off, his face warming and heat pooling in his gut. ‘Holy shit,’ he thought, ‘God in heaven...’  
     “Stop staring at my glistening pecs and get out of the bathroom already, sheesh.”  
     His voice was joking, but Matt could see something kind of strange in his eyes that had him ducking his head and saying, “Right. I'll be out soon.”  
     “Thanks kid.”  
     Mark flashed a peace sign and then returned from whence he came, leaving Matt feeling kind of uncomfortable but also really warm; he wondered about that out-of-character glint in Mark's eyes as he left the bathroom and headed to his room, what it could've possibly meant. Maybe it was something that Mark hadn't meant to show, that he'd let slip for some reason or another that made sense and wasn't just wishful thinking on his part.  
     Whatever. Matt had more important things to do than dwell on some trivial shit that his crush had done— for example, the new video that he and Ryan had shot; it needed to be edited and scheduled for upload. Speaking of Ryan, what was he up to with his whole "touchy-feely" schtick? It was like he was gay or something.  
     And then, Matt came to the realization that just maybe that was exactly it. He paused in the middle of slipping a shirt on over his head to smack his forehead at his own stupidity, because of _of fucking course_ that was it! How could he be so dense? Ryan was gay, or at the very least interested in dudes, particularly twinks like himself. That made things kind of complicated, because now he had another person that he had to compete with for Mark's affections, though it seemed like he was not interested in Mark, nor was he vice versa. Regardless, now that he was dressed, he could forget about the whole thing and go out to the office space and start working on that video. When he walked out there, hand ruffling his still-wet hair to help dry it, he was greeted with Mark dressed in a pair of his new silky boxer shorts and a matching undershirt, both of which were too tight for comfort— Matt's comfort, that is. Sucking in air through his teeth without making a sound and raising his brows, he turned away to instead sit at his desk and wake his computer up; in all honesty, there was a part of himself that told him that Mark dressed like he did just to get him all riled up, which made absolutely no sense in retrospect since Mark wasn't that kind of person... or was he? Matt paused in opening his video editing program to think on that, because as he thought over all the shit Mark had done in the time that he'd known him, it became more clear that yes, he _was_ the kind of person to do that. Quite by accident, he sighed very loudly, causing Mark to turn his attentions from what he was doing in the kitchen to Matt with furrowed brows and a hand behind his head. “You OK, Matty?” He asked, referring to him with that stupid nickname he knew Matt hated.  
     Matt nodded and waved his hand. “Yeah, I was just thinking of something dumb.” He answered kind of quickly.  
     “Like what?”  
     “A meme. It's nothing Mark, really.”  
     Mark made that annoying noise behind his closed lips that he always did whenever he knew someone was lying and hopped the desk to plop into the chair beside Matt, which was a bad idea due to the fact that a. It was a swivel chair, and b. It reclined, so when he dropped violently down into it, it fell back and twisted, consequently making Mark grab onto Matt to steady himself with a high-pitched noise of distress. The action had Matt tensing, his hands reflexively reaching out to grip Mark by the shoulders, eyes wide, mouth open to apologize— however, he didn't get to, as Mark was already straightened out and reclining in the desk chair, his usual dazzling smile gracing his features. “So, anyway, what's got you sighing real loud over here?” He asked.  
     Matt, who was still trying to process what had just happened, managed to mumble, “Nothing, I just thought of a... a meme.”  
     He could still feel Mark's skin on his fingertips and the weight of his body against his knees, and it was distracting as all hell. Mark, seemingly unaware of Matt's plight, went on with, “Oh yeah, suuure, a meme. Matt,” He reached out and gripped Matt's shoulder with his right hand, causing him to stiffen slightly upon contact. “You know you can tell me anything, right? It'll probably feel a lot better once you do,”  
     “It's... no big deal,” Matt began, pausing to look Mark over a second; a certain, familiar expression was in his eyes and at the twitch of his lips— he recognized it from before, when he had talked to Mark in the bathroom with Ryan. It had him feeling all hot and cold, like he had a fever or something, which very likely could've been the case considering how close Mark was to him. Speaking of which, when had Mark's shirt come off? His eyes grew wide of their own accord when they settled on Mark's bare chest and he couldn't tear them away. “U-uhm, Mark? Why is...”  
     All Mark did was shush him gently and lean into his face, Matt feeling Mark's hand settle on his upper thigh; he couldn't look at him directly, could only dance his eyes around the room as Mark grew steadily nearer. A low hum resonated from deep within his throat, like a distant rumble of thunder in the desert, and Matt was melting— there was a gentle brush of Mark's lips against his ear, a hot rush of breath, and then a heated whisper that had a moan in the undertones, “Matt... do you like me..?”  
     All that came out of Matt's mouth was a jumble of incoherent words that had Mark chuckling in such a tone that shivers shot up and down Matt's spine. He was breathing heavily, shaking, and had such a fever that he was pretty sure steam was coming off of his skin; the hand that was on his thigh drifted up to his hip and went under his shirt to ghost over his skin. _“I'll take that as a yes, baby.”_  
     Matt couldn't retain his voice and let out a breathy moan at that, which had Mark digging his nails into Matt's soft side, growling lowly into his ear and taking his hands to put them onto his body— Matt tensed upon contact, unsure of what to do, saying without thinking, “Sh-shouldn't we go somewhere else?”  
     “Why, what d'you think we're gonna do?”  
     Matt fumbled to answer. “I dunno, just...”  
     “We aren't doing aaanything, Matty,” Mark purred as he pulled back to look Matt in the face, “just sitting and talking,”  
     “But—”  
     From the hallway, Ryan called as he came from his room into the kitchen and consequentially into the sightlines of Mark and Matt, “Hey, what're you fucks doing in he–”  
     Upon seeing Mark shirtless and Matt with his hands on him with the both of their faces too close together for it to be casual, he came to a stop and turned around. “...Sorry, I didn't... know this was a thing.”  
     Matt shot straight up from his chair and practically shouted, “It's not!! It's... nothing!”  
     Mark sat back in his chair with his hands behind his head and the strangest expression that Matt had ever seen on his countenance. Turning away, he shuffled out of the computer area towards his bedroom, hearing Ryan trail after him with a questioning, “Hey!”  
     It was only when Matt had made it inside his room did he stop moving; behind him, he heard Ryan stop at his doorway and then walk into his room. After the door closed, Ryan said, "Dude, what's your problem?"  
     "What's _your_ problem?" Matt spun around to face him. "Are you gay for me or something?"  
     After a moment of seeming hesitation, Ryan answered, "Would you be mad if I said yes?"  
     "Yes!" Matt replied, but then ran a hand through his hair and lowered his head. "No... maybe, I don't know!"  
     Ryan took a few steps closer to Matt, who didn't move but instead tensed up some, awaiting the touch that he knew was coming; it came with a settle of Ryan's hand on his shoulder, feeling the other hold his chin and push upwards. "Look at me, Matt," He said quietly.  
     Matt lifted his face but not his eyes, them lingering elsewhere before shifting to stare at Ryan, who had an expression of concern as well as a nervous disposition. Matt shrugged, although why he didn't know, just feeling like he needed to in this situation; Ryan chuckled lightly at it before saying, "I'm pretty sure I'm gay for you, dude,"  
     Matt's heart leapt into his throat. "Uh..."  
     The expression on Ryan's countenance was one of eagerness, as though he were waiting for a very important phone call— Matt was pretty sure he was the phone call. "That's..." He began, "I mean, I'm, gay too,"  
     Ryan nodded. "That's not what we're discussing, though,"  
     "Yeah,"  
     Nothing more was said. Judging by how Ryan was shifting his weight and crossing and uncrossing his arms, he was becoming impatient. "Matt, come on," There was laughter on the edge of his tone. "How hard is it to figure out if you like me or not?"  
     "Very!" Matt turned up his mouth and shoved his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants. "You're really confusing, Ryan."  
     "How so?"  
     Matt shrugged, his expression humorous in how exaggerated it was. "Just in general,"  
     Wrapping his arms around him, Ryan let out a laugh that was mostly air and leaned into him, Matt knowing that because of the action his cheeks would be red and kind of hating it. "Well, I can try and clear some things up for you," Ryan told him in a soft voice.  
     Matt took a small step into Ryan's grasp. "Well, maybe I'd... like that,"  
     They brought their faces closer to each other and then, after a split second, kissed, all breath seemingly being knocked out of Matt like he'd been punched in the gut; he inhaled deeply, almost gasping when Ryan pulled back for a moment, hearing Ryan panting as well and smiling a little. "You know, I guess I've always been kinda gay for you," He whispered to him.  
     "What about Mark?" Ryan commented.  
     "Too much muscle," Matt ran his hands up the front of Ryan's shirt and groped at his squishy stomach.  
     "Oh, so you're a chubby chaser?"  
     "More like I prefer some cushion when I'm under someone,"  
     Ryan brushed his lips along Matt's earlobe as he whispered, "Naughty,"  
     They fell back onto Matt's bed and stayed there for the rest of the day, Mark too busy recording to notice the squeaking of bed springs and the muffled voices that sounded out from the other side of the door.


End file.
